(Closed) Should I go blonde?

Hi, bees! I’m a long time lurker and decided that my current hair colour dilemma was the perfect time to finally post something.

I’ve had the same haircut and colour for years. It has served me well through high school and now through most of college, but I am really wanting a change. I briefly considered going a fiery shade of red, but I’m not so sure that I am that bold. So, I am now considering becoming a blonde. I am just totally unsure about wether or not it would be flattering. My main concern is that I am really, really fair-skinned. I don’t want to look washed out. I need some non-biased opinions!

@ladychatterley: Still not working. Are you uploading them from your computer or a URL? I always upload via URL (I just dump pictures on imm.io or imgur.com and grab the link) because I don’t have good luck from my computer.

@ladychatterley: Can’t see pics, but I think the main thing you’ll want to consider is the upkeep. Depending on how dark your hair is naturally, it’s really tricky and expensive to keep blonde hair looking good. If your hair is any darker than light brown, I would think very carefully about going blonde.

Maybe start gradually – do some highlights first and see how you like it. Going blonde shouldn’t be a quick, easy process anyway – if it’s done right. Fried hair = bad. Been there, done that lol.

If you’re pale, you’ll need to wear a fair bit of makeup to not look washed out. Are you ok with that? If you’re a low maintenance kinda girl, blonde hair might not be the best idea.

With that said, hair does grow back so it’s not a permanent decision… but when it goes wrong it goes very very wrong.

@ladychatterley: Aha! 😀 Ok, lemme weigh in. I think you could but I have some advice.

I think a neutral undertone, not toned too far the way of purple, blue, or god forbid green (don’t do that unless you’re blazing red, you’ll turn grey) would look pretty or even a sliiiight red undertone. So slight it’s not really detectable and like “hey, you’ve got strawberry blond hair!” if that makes sense. It’s hard to do and easier done with a lightener that has toner in it.

Curious for the sake of knowing if you’ll have fun or if you’ll have FUN going blond, is that your natural color? If it’s not, blond may be a process. I know from firsthand experience plus I have a cosmetology license, and once upon a time I used to work as a colorist in a salon. You may have to lift to a certain point and put a semi-permanent color over it so it’s tolerable, give it a week, two if you can, and lift again. And you will have to tone, but that’s no matter what level you’re lifting from because hair has undertones at different levels. You’ll end up probably wanting a blue or if you go really light, purple toner.

I’m not saying you should do this because doing this will cause blistering and chemical burns but I also know the naughty behaviors that even stylists do when playing on eachother’s hair and touching up our own and I know what clients fess to in the chair. If you use 40 vol peroxide, the highest volume you can get without a cosmetologist’s license, you will get only 4 levels of lift. Your hair looks somewhere around a level 2 or 3, so you’d get to a 6 or 7 in one round. If you are aiming for a dark blond, you’ve hit it. If not, lighten again. But you need to let your hair rest unless you want to risk the cute chemical haircut. Once you’ve lifted to where you want it, tone it and you’re there.

I’d get it done at a salon. There’s a lightener available to professionals (if they use the line) that can lift 7 levels in one application. I love that stuff. (I’ve had Cherry Bomb red SFX hair and other SFX reds, black hair, to platinum blond, round and round I go, haha. Right now it’s almost black, I’m naturally light blond. So that lightener makes life easier for my chameleon-like hair.)

@ladychatterley: I see them! The hair stylist would have to bleach your hair, so there would definitely be some damage and you’d most likely lose some of the length. That’s what happened to me when I got highlights! I don’t think a light blond would look the best, but maybe a dark blond, or dark golden blond. Or light brown with blond highlights? That’s my 2 cents 🙂

They show up now! I think you look gorgeous with your current hair color to be perfectly honest! But I’m very fair also, and I’m blonde (obvi), and it’s the best color for me! So if you’re really wanting a change, I think blonde would look good also!

Part of the reason I am wanting a change is that I feel like my really dark hair just isn’t that flattering to my colouring. I’m super pale and have light eyes and in some lighting, I worry I look a wee tad vampire-ish. I was thinking that blonde might look more natural?